


The Chaste Moon

by clgfanfic



Category: Houston Knights
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 08:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joe get a visit from Mother Minnie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Chaste Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the letterzine Partners and Friends and later in Ouch! #12 under the pen name Lynn Gill.

          There is a coldness that permeates everything.  It is not the cold from outside, but coldness from within.  It seeps insidiously into your soul and robs you of hope with its icy fingers of loneliness.  For him, it had been a part of his life for too long and had made him close off that part of himself that could love.  Now, from an unexpected source, he was being asked to let that part free, and he wasn't sure he could do it.  Standing in the bitter rain of an unusually cold Houston winter's day, he clutched the umbrella tightly, trying to sort out the feelings that flowed through him.

          Tonight was the last time she would visit him, and Joseph LaFiamma couldn't decide if that were good, or bad.  Why was she coming to him anyway?  She wasn't _his_ grandmother.  Besides, she was dead.

          The dark-haired detective shook his head and stared at the three small children playing on the park swings.  Why did their mothers let them out in weather like this?  _Why am_ I _out here in the rain?_

          "Because you think better on your feet, that's why."

          He turned, squinting through the drizzle at the woman who had spoken.  "Mother Minnie?"

          "Yes, Joe, it's me."

          "But, you're… you're dead.  Right?"

          "Yes, I am."

          "But, how—?"

          "I can't answer that, so don't ask me.  Look, Joe, I don't have much time.  I was going to wait 'til tonight, and come to you like I have been – in your dreams – but I don't have time."

          LaFiamma shook his head.  "I don't understand this.  I—"

          "Walk with me, Joe."

          The pair continued slowly down the small clay pathway.  The detective fought to keep his emotions under control.  Disbelief, fear, wonder, joy, confusion, and others he couldn't define warred for his attention with the woman's words.

          "…In the past there was always someone close.  You understand, don't you?"

          "Huh?  I— I don't know."

          "Levon, well, there's more to him than most folks ever realize – always been like that.  There's a depth there, sort of like an old river that looks familiar, but the currents can pull you under, and there are a couple of quicksand pits on the banks."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          LaFiamma smiled.  He had never thought of his partner in quite those ways.  But he knew that there was more to the man then he let on; hell, the Italian played the same game.

          _Maybe that's why I can sense that part of Lundy, even if he won't let me see it_ , he realized.

          "He feels things, maybe too much.  But, he deals with it.  Now, mind that I won't say that _how_ he deals with it is always right, because I'd be lyin'."

          Joe nodded, still unsure what the woman wanted from him.

          "I was his last lifeline… now Levon's all alone for the first time in his life."

          "He'll be okay.  He just needs a little time to get the pieces back together."

          "That's what I thought when Caroline died.  I pretty near lost him then, Joe.  He called me one night, real late – he'd been drinking – and he talked about his daddy leavin', his mama dyin', and Caroline…  He's lost a couple of partners, too, you know."

          "No, I didn't," LaFiamma said, wondering why Lundy hadn't told him.

          "You see, Levon takes responsibility for things he doesn't have any control over.  Like those two men getting killed, and his mama and daddy…  Caroline, and now me."

          "You?  But that's silly, he couldn't do anything about—"

          "He couldn't have done anything about any of those deaths, but he still _feels_ responsible.  And I know you understand that, even if it is silly."

          The Italian glanced away, a soft rose lighting his cheeks.  He did indeed.

          "I'm worried, Joe.  I'm afraid of what he'll do."

          "Do?"

          "I know you realize he was close to killin' himself after Caroline died."

          "I've guessed that might have been the case.  We haven't really talked about it, though…  I figured he was past all that."

          "He was.  But after her death he wasn't just thinkin' about shooting himself, or something as direct as all that, there was another side to it.  He was careless, reckless even, taking chances that could've gotten him killed.  You see what I'm getting' at?"

          LaFiamma nodded.  "Yeah, I do.  Like that last bust we made – the way he charged in without a vest.  It saved that woman's life, but it could've gotten him killed.  I think that's why the lieutenant insisted that he take a few days off."

          "Exactly.  I want you to watch him, Joe.  For me.  Please."

          "I will.  You didn't have to ask.  He's my partner."

          "He needs family, Joe.  That's something that's very important to us – maybe too much so, but it's too late to worry about blame now.  Levon needs an anchor in the living world, and I'm asking _you_ to be that anchor.  Otherwise I'm afraid he'll let his ties to the dead pull him over before his time."

          LaFiamma stopped, and Mother Minnie did as well.  The Italian shivered in the cold.  It was the same request she'd been making over the last six nights – every night since her funeral, and Joe still wasn't sure he could open that part of himself up again.  Like Lundy, he'd seen too much death, felt too much pain.  He was being asked to love again, to accept a new family.  He was also being given a chance again.

          "Mother Minnie, I— I just don't know if I can."

          "Joe, I wouldn't ask it of you if I didn't know you could.  You need that anchor, too."

          "But—"

          "Now, you listen to me.  You and Levon?  You're like two peas in a pod.  Both of you hidin' behind your walls, afraid to reach out and really care about anyone because you're sure they're going to disappoint you.  Well, I can tell you, we're all goin' to disappoint you.  We'll die, we'll hurt you, we'll leave… whether or not we want to.  We aren't perfect, but love is."

          LaFiamma studied the old woman's face.  She looked younger than he remembered her, like the vitality she'd lost to the cancer had been restored.

          She smiled.  "Love and pain are the two sides of life's coin, Joe.  They come together."

          "I know, but it doesn't make me any less afraid."

          She shook her head.  "You two really are alike.  Just go to him.  Make him talk.  And listen to him.  Tell him that you care, that you'll be there for him.  And I promise you, he'll be there for you."

          "I know he will."

          "Will you go?"

          "I'll go."

          "Thank you, Joe.  I'll leave you alone now."

          LaFiamma watched as Mother Minnie slowly faded until he could see the trees and park bench behind her.  Then the panic rose.  "Wait!" he called.

          "I can't, Joe.  I've done all I can.  It's up to you boys now.  I'll keep an eye on you, though… remember that."

          "I'll try," he said, watching the last of her outline disappeared into the gray morning.  It was time he went to see Lundy.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          The first thing that grabbed LaFiamma's attention as he drove up was the yard.  It was perfect.  Not that Lundy didn't take care of the place, but this went beyond a simple mowing; the whole yard was manicured.  Climbing out of the car, LaFiamma paused at the Jimmy.  It was clean, too – washed and waxed, inside and out.

          Something was wrong.

          "Lundy?" he called, noticing that the front door was standing open behind the closed screen.  Odd for the Texan to leave it open on such a cold day.

          Entering the house, LaFiamma was struck by the same unusual cleanliness.  Everything was absolutely spotless.

          Internal alarms coursed through his nerves.  "Lundy?" he called again, louder this time.

          _This is wrong_ , the dark-haired detective thought to himself.  _I shouldn't be snooping through Lundy's house like this_.  Still, he couldn't stop his silent prowl though the tidy, polished rooms.

          One last door.  LaFiamma's hand trembled as he reached for the brass knob. Gripping the cold metal, he turned it slowly and let the door swing inward.  Lundy's bedroom.

          Nothing.  It was just like the rest of the house, dusted, vacuumed, spotless.  Except…

          He stepped up to the bed.  Sitting on the slightly worn blue bedspread was  an old tin box, the only item out of place in the entire house.

          _It's none of your business_ , one part of himself argued.

          _Something's wrong_ , another countered.  _Go on, look_.

          He opened the lid and found a stack of papers.  Thumbing through them LaFiamma felt his stomach clench: Will, deed to the house and property, title for the Jimmy, insurance, other important papers.

          "Lundy!"

          The Italian bolted from the house, stopping in the middle of the front yard, swinging left and right as he scanned the area.  Where could Lundy be?

          _The barn!_

          Sprinting to the weathered structure, he was met by a soft nicker from his partner's gelding.  The barn too was unusually clean.  He looked around, the horse's large brown eyes following his movements.  Where was Lundy?

          Sprinting back outside, LaFiamma noticed the path that led off into the surrounding countryside.  One of the blond detective's riding trails.  Where else was there to look?

 

  1. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *



 

          Panic and dread made each step harder and harder to take, but LaFiamma forced himself on.

          There!  A flash of color.  The detective froze, squinting through the tangle of bushes.  Red.

          "Lundy?" 

          There was no movement.  Pushing his way slowly through the foliage, LaFiamma found his partner lying on the ground, face down.  One arm was stretched out above the blond's head, the other bent, pillowing his cheek.

          "Oh, God.  Jesus, Lundy, no."  The Italian stood over his partner, unable to react.  His body shook and his breath came in short, rapid pants.  Finally pushing past the fear that paralyzed him, the detective knelt down and grabbed the man's shoulders.

          "Lundy?"

          The blond lurched forward, twisting violently away, one arm snapping back to strike out.  Lundy sucked in a breath when he saw his partner, and lowered his fist.

          "LaFiamma!" he snapped, "what the hell are you doin'?"

          Startled by the reaction from what he'd thought was a dead body, LaFiamma had scrambled to his feet and taken a step back.

          "I, huh, I—"  He shook his head, at a loss for words.

          "Ya damn-near scared me t'death!"

          "I'm sorry, all right?" Joe snapped back in his own defense.

          "What're you doin' here?  I told you, and everybody else, I wanted some time alone."

          "Me?  What the hell were _you_ doing out here in the middle of nowhere, laying there—"

          "I was thinkin', I guess I fell asleep, LaFiamma.  Is that a crime?"

          "No—"  He turned away.  Get out of here, LaFiamma, he told himself.  It's clear he doesn't want you here.  He tried to take a step, but couldn't make his legs cooperate.

          Lundy pushed himself up, brushing the dirt and leaves off his clothes as he watched his partner turn away.  The man was obviously upset.  "Look, I've been havin' trouble sleepin' and I guess I dozed off," the blond explained, unsure why his partner was reacting like he was.  "You just surprised me, that's all."

          "Yeah.  Okay."  LaFiamma started to walk away.

          "Joe."

          "Yeah?"

          "What are you doin' out here?"

          "I…"  _How the hell do I explain this?  I can't tell him about Mother Minnie; he'll think I've gone off the deep end!  Hell, maybe I have_.  "…I wanted to talk to you."

          There was more, a lot more to it than that, but the Texan wasn't sure he was ready to hear it.  Still, he owed his partner.  "Come on back to the house.  I'll fix some coffee to warm us up."

          The pair walked back in silence, Lundy closing the front door behind them when they entered the house.  Turning the thermostat up, he headed straight for the kitchen, LaFiamma remaining in the living room, standing next to the fireplace and trying to get warm again.

          "So what did ya want to talk to me about?"  Lundy called.

          _Come on, LaFiamma_ , the detective thought.  _You have to tell him something_. "Huh, I just wanted to know how you were doing."

          Lundy walked in to join him.  "Okay, I guess."

          Anger flared in the Italian.  "Bullshit!"

          Taken back by the outburst, Lundy felt himself respond before he could stop it.  "What the hell's it to you one way or 'nother!"

          A dark anger smoldered in the blue eyes, and LaFiamma stalked for the door.

          "Wait.  Joe!"

          The Italian stopped.  "Look, Lundy.  Maybe I shouldn't have come out here, but I was worried.  No one's heard a damned thing from you in three days.  When I got here…"  He trailed off.

          "LaFiamma—"

          "Let me finish.  Everything was so damned clean, so in order.  I found the box with all your papers."  He stepped closer to his friend, tears shining unshed in his eyes.  "I thought you might have done something stupid, all right?  And when I saw you lying there – damn it, Lundy!  I thought you killed yourself!"

          The blond looked away.

          "And you know something else?"

          Lundy shook his head.

          "I was pissed.  I was so mad.  And you know why?"  Another shake.  "You didn't call me, man.  I'm your partner, and you didn't call me."

          The Texan met his partner's accusing glare.  "I'm sorry."

          "No, you're not.  You like playing the martyr, Lundy?"

          That was too far!  "What the hell are you gettin' at, LaFiamma?"

          "You're not alone, damn it!  You've still got family."

          "No.  No, I don't."

          "What the hell do you call us?  Joanna, Chicken, Annie… me?"

          "It's not the same thing."  He turned and walked back to the kitchen.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          LaFiamma considered leaving, walking out right there.  He was angry and it could lead him to say things he could regret later, but something in Lundy's eyes held him.  The desperate pain just below the blond's protective anger…

          Protective anger?

          The detective had to fight to keep from laughing.  Jesus.  Is that what I'm doing, too?

          He looked up to find Lundy standing in front of him, holding out a cup.  Fingers of steam curled into the air.  "I thought you might leave," the blond said.

          "I almost did."  They both moved back to the warmth of the fireplace.

          "Lundy, have you thought about killin' yourself?"

          There it was, out in the open.  _I can't tell him_!  "I'd be lyin' if I didn't say it's crossed my mind a couple of times," Levon said calmly.

          "Now, Lundy.  Has it crossed your mind now?"

          Levon sat the cup down on the mantle, looking at a photograph of he and Caroline.  "A time or two."

          LaFiamma closed his eyes for a moment.  There it was.  The truth.  Mother Minnie was right.  "Why haven't you?  Did you get everything cleaned up for that?"

          The Texan snorted.  "Naw.  Look, people handle someone dying in different ways," he explained somewhat sheepishly.  "I clean.  I get started and I can't stop until it's all done.  I guess it's a way to exhaustion.  I don't know."

          "You're not alone, Lundy."

          "I know.  Listen, it's not that I don't think of y'all as family, but it ain't the same."

          "Why?"

          "It's not blood."  The blond squatted in front of the fireplace.  Taking the poker he moved the nearly consumed logs and added another as he continued.  "Blood's always been real important to us, LaFiamma."

          "You're talking to an Italian, Lundy.  Don't you think I understand that?"

          "I just never thought I'd be alone.  I don't like it much."

          "But you're not.  Damn it, Lundy, love doesn't have to come from a relative to mean something."  Dark eyes flashed at the detective.  "Look, all I'm trying to say is, I think of you as family."

          "Don't."

          "Why?"

          "My family dies, LaFiamma."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Joe paced in his apartment.  He had tried, really tried, but he couldn't break past the guilt and pain Lundy had built up.  The Texan did take responsibility for things outside his control, and LaFiamma couldn't force Lundy to understand that he didn't make his father leave, or his mother die, or Caroline, or Mother Minnie, or the partners of the past!   _Who am I trying to fool_? the Italian chided himself.  _I do the same Goddamned thing_!

          At least Lundy had sounded better when LaFiamma left.  And there was the promise – Lundy would call if he started to think about dying again.

          "I've gotta get some sleep," Joe muttered aloud, wandering into the bedroom and collapsing across the made bed.  He was asleep before he could think about taking off his clothes.

          "Joe?"  The voice emerged out of a thick fog.  What sounded like waves, breaking on a rocky shoreline, muffled it slightly.

          "Mother Minnie?"

          "Yes, dear."  She stepped into sight.

          "I thought you had to leave?"

          "It's Levon.  He's going to—"

          "No.  He promised he'd call—"

          "He won't be able to.  He—"

          The phone.  LaFiamma sat up, the room seeming to contort several times before the detective could reach for the receiver.

          "Yeah, LaFiamma here."

          "Joe?"  It was Annie and the Italian felt a cold hand tighten around his heart. "It's Levon."

          "What?"

          "He was at the all-night market on Harrison when it was robbed.  They're holding him hostage."

          "I'm on my way."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          The lights from the police units bouncing off the buildings caused LaFiamma's stomach to lurch in unpleasant ways, but the scowl of concern on Lieutenant Beaumont's face stilled further thought on it.

          "What's up?" he asked.

          "Three suspects, six hostages in the back room, and Lundy."

          "They know he's a cop?"

          "As far as we know, not yet."

          "What do they want?"

          "A car, and safe conduct to the border.  According to the owner, the store received the payroll this afternoon, so they've bagged over sixty-thousand dollars."

          "Great."

          She nodded.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          One of the men dragged Lundy to the front of the store.  The arm wrapped around the blond's throat made it difficult to tell if the detective was as drunk as he appeared, or simply responding to the rough treatment.

          "We ain't waiting all night!  I want that car!  If you don't get it here in twenty minutes, we're gonna start shooting these people!  There's a couple of women in here, too!"

          "Yeah, women!"  Lundy yelled out, the words slurred across each other.

          Joanna shook her head.  "I knew he was having trouble with this—"

          "Hand me the binoculars," Joe interrupted.

          Beaumont tossed the case to the detective and LaFiamma quickly removed them, focusing in on Lundy.  It was clear from the bruises that the blond detective had gone a few rounds with the men.

          "If he wasn't so damned drunk we might be able to pull something off," Joanna complained.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          LaFiamma moved the glasses to study his partner's face again.  Intense brown eyes stared out of a plastered face, searching the assemblage of squad cars. "He's not wasted, Lieutenant.  Take a look at his eyes."

          She accepted the binoculars and focused.  "Then what the hell's he doing?"

          "Lundy must've thought it was safer if they thought he was drunk."

          The man dragged the detective back into the store.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "They gonna do it?" asked the youngest of the three men as he brushed stringy red hair out of his face.

          "They'll do it.  They ain't got no choice," the man holding Lundy said.  "Cab, grab one of them women.  Next time they're gonna see a broad instead of this fool."

          "Fool?"  Lundy bellowed.  "I ain't no fool!  And neither are you.  You're gonna take 'em real good!  Hot damn!  I never thought I'd see it!  Whoooeee!"

          The youngster smiled.  "You're on our side, huh, mister?"

          "Damned straight!  Stupid cops think they can go around settin' the whole world straight!  They're the fools!  Who cares?  Hell, you oughtta make 'em give ya more money!"

          "You're a greedy bastard, ain't ya?" the man holding Lundy asked as Cab rejoined them with an armful of struggling woman.

          "Might as well be, I sure as hell ain't gonna get rich!"

          The kid laughed.  "Maybe we oughtta take him along with us."

          "Sure!  Beats the hell out of working all day or all night, day after day, not gettin' no closer to finishin' that when ya started–"

          "Shut up," the leader said, jerking his arm closer, and cutting off Lundy's air. "We ain't takin' him.  He just wants an easy cut into our money."

          Lundy struggled weakly against the man's grip, not wanting to push him away too far.  Damn!  Lundy thought.  Be my luck to run into a paranoid, he thought as the man dug into the detective's back pocket and fished out his wallet.  Shit!

          The leader flipped the wallet open and held it up for the other two men to see Lundy's identification.  "See!  That's how much he's on our side!  He's a Goddamned cop!"

          The smile on the youngsters' face twisted into a snarl.  "Asshole!" he screamed.  The revolver swung toward the two men and the red-head fired.

          "Jesus Christ!" the leader howled as Lundy pitched forward in his arms.  "Are you crazy, Timmy!  You son of a bitch!  That could've hit me!"

          The kid, lost in his anger, missed Cab's swinging fist that clouted him on the back of the head.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Joanna and LaFiamma both jumped at the sound of the gunshot.  Exchanging looks, neither said what they feared most.

          "Lieutenant," Joe-Bob said.

          The man dragged Lundy back to the door of the market.  Behind him a second man stood, holding a squirming woman.  LaFiamma grabbed the binoculars.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "I told you we were serious!  We didn't kill nobody, but this _cop_ here is gonna die if we don't get that car!"

          "Lundy's shot," Joe said softly, staring at the spreading ring of red on the man's shirt.  "Right side, just above the hip."

          Joanna lifted the mike and keyed it.  "The car's on the way.  It'll be here shortly."

          "That ain't good enough!" the man yelled, slamming his fist into the detective's injured side.  Lundy folded inward, his arms clutching at his stomach.  "I'll kill him!  Or this woman will get it!  I want that car, now!"

          "What's the situation?"  Beaumont asked into a hand-held radio.

          "We have a clear shot at the man with the woman, but the guy holding Lundy is too close," the sniper leader replied.

          "If you see a shot, take it."

          "Roger, we are standing by."

          "Lieutenant—" LaFiamma began, but before he could continue, shots were ringing out.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Lundy scanned the line of police cars.  He knew LaFiamma was out there, somewhere.  He also knew Joanna would have the snipers set, waiting for a clear target.  Cab was open, but not the one holding him…  If he could give them a clear shot, two of the men could be taken out…

          Taking a deep breath Lundy moved.  Reaching up to grab the arm around his throat, the Texan drove his other elbow back into the leader's side.  At the same time he jerked forward.

          The pain that exploded in his side blinded him to the flashes from the high-powered rifles and the spray of red as the leader's face exploded.

          "No!" Timmy screamed.  "They're gonna die!"

          Lundy stumbled past the two dead men.  Cab's revolver was on the floor and the detective dove for it as Timmy turned to fire at the blond.

          Lundy's hands, wet with blood, closed on the wooden grip only to have it slip through his fingers.  Grabbing more desperately, he raised the gun and fired at the boy.

          Timmy howled as he fell, grabbing at the hole in the back of his thigh.  "Bastard!"  But before the youngster could raise his revolver, Lundy centered on the boy's chest and fired.  Timmy fell forward, eyes open but unseeing.

          The pounding of several people running toward the store rattled through the detective's head.  He dropped the gun as he collapsed forward into the gore.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "Lundy?"

          The detective blinked his eyes open.  "LaFiamma?"

          "Yeah, it's me.  Hey, you're gonna be fine, partner.  Doctor says just a couple of days and you'll be on your feet."

          Levon nodded.  "How long I been out?"

          "Two days.  You remember what happened?"

          The blond nodded.  "Everyone okay?"

          "Everyone but you.  That shot passed through your side – didn't hit anything important.  That was a big risk you took."

          "Couldn't think of anything else to do."

          "You sure that's all it was?"  the Italian asked before he could stop himself.  _Damn!  Real smart, LaFiamma, just piss him off at you_.

          "I already had this talk, LaFiamma."

          "Huh?"

          "With Mother Minnie.  She wanted to know that same thing."

          He shivered.  She was dead.  He was sure of that, but if she came to him, there was no reason why she shouldn't go to her grandson…  "What'd you tell her?"

          "That I did what I thought was best in the situation.  It's the truth, too.  She believed me.  You know, that wasn't the funny part of it.  She said she's been talkin' to you, too."

          The Italian felt his grasp on the world slip, slightly.  This can't be real, he insisted silently.

          "Funny dream, huh?" Levon whispered.

          "Yeah.  Real funny."

          The blond watched his partner.  The Italian paled, and licked his lips nervously.  "She did talk to you, didn't she?"

          LaFiamma nodded, unable to admit that he had met and spoke to a ghost.  _I don't even know if I believe in ghosts!  I don't know what I believe anymore!_

          "Happens a lot in my family.  Don't worry 'bout it.  Just means people care 'bout ya," Lundy said.  "Hey, I guess that makes you a part of the family whether or not you wanna be."

          LaFiamma grinned.  "I don't mind… I mean, well, you think that's so bad?  Me being there?"

          "Naw… not too bad."

          The Italian reached out and gripped his partner's shoulder.  "You gonna make it?"

          The blond knew his partner wasn't asking about the physical injury.  Resting his hand on the man's arm, Levon said, "I will.  I'm learnin', gettin' better at not blamin' myself, but it'll take me a while.  I've always been too damn stubborn for my own good."

          LaFiamma smiled.  "Tell me about it."

          "Mother Minnie told me there's gonna be a full moon tonight," Lundy said.  "The chaste moon."

          The Italian shivered again.

          "She told me it was a good time to look inside myself and learn the truth – or maybe accept it.  Both hard."

          "You going to do that?"

          "I'm going to try."

          LaFimma nodded.  "Me, too.  I guess it's time to tear down a few walls of my own."

          Lundy nodded.  "Thanks."

          "Guess that's what family's for, huh, Lundy?"

          "You got that right."

The End


End file.
